New Puppy Mummies, Part 3

[DharmaLovesDraco]

New thread, because quite frankly I can't do without you all :)

Hello Sorcha and Pufflemum.

Sorcha get your dcs to play the Kennel Club's online dog/child safety game. More info here and here.

Pufflemum, three top tips, hmm ...

1. Socialise, socialise, socialise take him/her absolutely everywhere you can think of. Get him used to car travel, time alone and busy places. Get every type of person you can think of to say hello and give him/her a treat and take him places where he can observe other dogs from the safety of your arms. Then as soon as the vaccinations are complete get him out everywhere all over again, to see the world from a dog's perspective, rather than from carrying height. You can't do too much socialisation, but you can over-do the actual interaction. What he/she needs is to feel safe and comfortable in each situation, rather than have lots of interaction with people all at the same time. A crowd of children all putting there hands all over him, squealing and cooing would be too much, whereas lots of individual, 1:1 controlled and positive interactions are essential.

2. Toilet training - vigilance is your friend and also acceptance that you may have to spend a lot of time outside in all weathers and at all hours during the first couple of weeks. Take him/her outside after every feed, drink, game and sleep and as soon as he/she starts sniffing the floor and/or circling - which are both signs they need to go. Say whatever word you'd like them to use as a cue to toilet as they go, then reward them with lots of praise and fuss and/or a little treat when they've finished.

3. Get him/her used to very short periods of alone-time right from the get-go. Literally just a minute or two at first, making sure they're occupied with a chew or favourite toy. We didn't do enough of this with Pip and at 7 months are still trying to teach him to stay home alone without yelling. A crate is ideal for this and you can ensure he/she has positive associations with the crate itself by feeding all meals in there and treating lots whenever he/she chooses to go in. Don't expect them to like the crate just because it's their bed, you need to create positive associations if you want them to really like it. Crates are also useful safe-spaces where the pup can have some quiet time away from the dcs and imho, this is essential in a household like yours and mine that has 3 dcs, who will undoubtedly be really excited by the presence of a new pup.

Finally, congratulations on your new pup and keep posting, we're all muddling along together here and it really helps to share tips and traumas with others who are going - or have recently gone through - the same thing.

Oh - and we do love a good puppy photo if you can get one onto your profile for us to coo over!

Definitely make sure that they're happy with people who have;
Beards, turbans, glasses, wear high visibility gear, hats, sunglasses, glasses, walk with sticks, use wheelchairs, umbrellas, helmets, policeman, I'm sure they're more but that's what we did with Toby. He still hated hi-vis jackets!
I made sure that he met our window cleaner so that he wasn't freaked out by the monthly visit. I took him to our local special school to meet kids. He loved it.

*they're more?! There are more!! Tsk!

Nigella - Definitely let him off lead - you want to take advantage of his current need to stay close to you

I am currently whistle-training Fitz - it's fascinating watching him wheel round as soon as he hears the "pip-pip-pip" and charge towards me ready for his treat

Top puppy tip in addition to the ones already suggested - start teaching walking to heel right from the start, just around the house and garden, without the lead on to start with and then with it as that makes outside walks much easier once your puppy's fully vaccinated

Well after deciding to get another puppy in the summer, this little guy's picture popped up on my fb www.mayflowersanctuary.co.uk/2014/01/max-cocker-spaniel/

...so I'm going to meet him tomorrow. How can anyone resist such a happy spaniel face?

TMB he looks adorable! Hope your visit goes well and you click.

I put a new pic on my profile but I'm in a muddle with it - tried putting two on and leaving my old one but instead 4 of same picture with wrong wording went up ! The other showed minty asleep- half on his bed and half of him on the floor!

Morning. Sorry, I have been mad busy and been skim reading where possible.

Welcome to all new puppy owners. Most of the important stuff has been covered already but I would add that clicker training is great fun too, and easy.

moose - my dog collars arrived yesterday, they are fab but the family think they are camp!!!

Hector arrives on Saturday so trying to be fully up to date at work and home as I know little will be done next week.

I'll keep up now, promise

Hi. My internet is back. Thank goodness.

So many new cocker spaniels. I'm very impressed with people getting a 2nd. I thinks it's a bit like kids I took much longer than anyone else to decide I could do it again.

We took the puppy on his first walk and went off lead. Was relieved he didn't shake all the time which he did when out and about in our arms. He is super friendly with every person and runs away from all the dogs. Today one old terrier tried to bite him and weirdly he went back to him for another! He hadn't done that with any other dog. Chatted to lots of nice people.

He's getting a bit clingy with me since we've been on our own. He sometimes yelps when I go upstairs or even if I'm in the same room and not going on the sofa with him. I have left him for 1-2 hours a day and our very short school run. I'm finding it a bit wearing. I had completely non clingy kids so this is all new!

Was doing v well with the housetraining (only 1 accident a day) then yesterday it was 5 including a poo!

Have also had the worst experience in the world - a poo bag with a hole(the whole packet was faulty)

Meeting a friend tomorrow with a similar looking dog 4 week older. So that should be interesting.

Biting/ chewing continues. No chew/antler/toy us a nice as cheap wooden furniture or skirting boards. Thanks for those anti bite tips. We need to decide on one method. I want to do the leaving him and going in another room but he's too darn quick.
I can't seem to look at pics on my phone so am going to go to a laptop to admire pip.

aaww pip

Rubbish walk this morning :( first of all Fitz got attacked by a black spaniel when he was sitting on my feet having come back for reassurance after being chased by the spaniel's mate - his owner patronisingly told me it was all noise - walked on a few steps to find Fitz bleeding from his nose. I called after the other dog's owner to let her know and to be fair she came back to check, grabbed hold of Fitz's face to examine him and rather grudgingly said she'd give me her phone number if I wanted it but it was a very minor injury

After that he was v nervous but I thought all was ok when he met one of his cockapoo friends - a slightly older pup - they were playing beautifully when suddenly the other puppy turned on Fitz - this time it really was all noise but both Fitz and I were left feeling quite shaken - obviously there was something about him today which was antagonising older dogs but I can't see what :(

TMB, good luck your visit to Max. He looks so sweet in that photo, poor boy deserves a lovely home.

Mint, Minty looks huge, but oh so cuddly, in that photo!

Needa, ignore them, they know nothing of canine fashion!

Can't wait to see some pictures of Hector - make sure you find two minutes to pop in and introduce him to us.

Reup - urgh at poo bag incident. I had to clean up after someone else's dog this morning, because they had deposited chunks all along the road between our house and the path, which is the main route home for most of the children at dd and ds2's school. I was even more cross that it looked as if it was probably my dogs, as it started at the end of our drive and the trail ended at the park. [angry.

Not sure I'm the best person to advise on clingy dogs, given I still can't go out for longer than 50 minutes without Pip wailing.

We have just got back from dog club, where Pip passed the club's level 1 test. He passed KC puppy foundation 7/8 ish weeks ago and the club like you to complete their level one before starting the rest of the KC Good Citizen training. They have 8 club tests/awards you can do as well or you can just do the club training and not worry about the tests. I think I might to the club tests and not bother with KC stuff.

I was so proud of him today. First he was desperate to say hello to a young rescue Lab girl that came into our room with the person scoring the test. Then when they said hello, he invited her to play, which is a first for a new dog he's never met before, as he usually says a quick, worried looking, hello then comes back to me.

Then at the end of the class, I had to take him into the puppy class room to get his certificate and he was in there with 7 dogs he didn't know, only one he did and he lay there calmly and quietly without a hint of stress or nervousness.

The trainers from the puppy class were amazed at how well he's come on, as they can all clearly remember him hiding behind my chair, quivering like a jelly if another dog so much as looked at him.

We probably won't manage to get there every week now, as I don't drive and dmum gives me a lift, but it will be great for him to be in a class with lots of older and younger dogs. There will be new dogs starting every 6 weeks of so as well (when the next puppy class graduates from level 1) so it will be a constant stream of dogs for him to meet and socialise with.

Another new pic on my profile (picture two on the list). It's him in his new housecoat, which arrived yesterday. He slept so well all snuggled up in it last night, so it was definitely a worthwhile investment.

BB that's horrid - I'm sure it wasn't signals she was giving out, just very bad luck. Is the injury ok now?

You do feel really shaken after an attack - minty was attacked by a huge brown bear like dog, thankfully the owner stepped in, grabbed his dog roughly by the collar and yanked it off, and there were no injuries just a lot of yelping. But my teenage son was ranting at me for having not prevented the attack. He was in shock and upset, we did have a good chat about how you can't prevent all these things no matter how vigilant you are as the owner. Interestingly same son is now quite reluctant to walk puppy and has not mentioned off lead walks on his own (not that I was going to let him off lead yet but he used to be badgering me about it)

Well done to Pip! Great news, how wonderful to see your time so well returned with a happy, confident chap.

Minty is wonderful to cuddle though I have to sneak mine in after kids bedtime having drummed it into them that they aren't allowed to cuddle the dogs head! He is a softie and I can snuggle in as close as I like!

Moose - how does a dog invite another to play? You said Pip did this? I'm wondering if it's the bow thing they do or what else it might be? Minty loves to play but seems to try this by barking madly at other dogs - not great, they either run off and play together, running and chasing each other or the other dogs growls/ snaps back as the barking has irritated them. Any way I can encourage good patient ways of inviting another dog to play?

Cross posted, basil.

You poor things. What a horrible shock. The first one sounds like it was probably down to the other dogs bad behaviour. The second was possibly because the cockerpoo could sense his nerves. Dogs give off a distinctive smell when they get scared and it could be the other pup picked up on that.

The only other thing I can think of is perhaps he's having a testosterone boost and the other dogs picked up on that. Remind me how old he is now - and were the other dogs all male?

It's a tricky age from here to maturity, as some dogs take it upon themselves to put younger dogs in their place - having decided that they can no longer be treated as a pup. Puppy-like behaviour (like approaching head on, licking mouths, direct eye contact etc) is less tolerated by adults as our pups get older and how they react to them is really down to the other dog's behaviour, personality and social skills. A lot of canine communication is so subtle, it can sometimes be hard for us to see what the other dogs are reacting to, but it's very common for older dogs to have a go at older pups to put them in their place.

Are you going to take him to the vet to get him checked out?

Mint, play bowing is part of it, but there's more to it than that. Body language should be soft and relaxed, there's usually playbowing, averted gaze, sideways approaches and bum-swinging.

In Pip's case he said hello - sideways approach, averted gaze, mutual sniffing. Then play-bowed, tail wagging at neutral height, swung his bum round towards her and tried to dart off across the hall to get her to chase him. Unfortunately for him, he was on the lead and had no grip on the floor, so it was all very Scooby-Doo running on the spot!

I also highly recommend looking through some of the Dog Communication videos on YouTube. They are a training an behaviourist team and have socialisation classes and teaching dogs for helping poorly socialised dogs learn appropriate interaction and communication. I would love Pip to go there, but it's too far away for us.

It's typical puppy behaviour to try barking to get another dog to play. He'll get the hang of it the more dogs he gets to play with. The other dogs that snap at him (without escalating it to a fight) are just teaching him what is and isn't good communication and he'll get the message eventually. In the meantime, long-line introductions are a good way to control the introductions. Keep him on the long-line and reward him for reacting appropriately to the other dog. The reward can either be the opportunity to play off-lead or food - whichever is the greater motivator for him at the time.

That is wonderful - thanks Moose! What lovely communication. Minty is NOTHING like that!! He is really the most silly, barky thing when faced with another dog, just has not learnt his doggie manners yet. But I am totally relaxed when he's growled at by another dog - happens on most walks, as I know he's learning good stuff. I do tend to underestimate my kids & puppies (while adoring them of course) but DH thinks minty has really improved his communication skills and thinks he does less of the barging in, barking in other dogs face and more of the approaching gently stuff. But he is not into the sideways thing yet - I love that approach in the video!

Great to see in video what he should be aiming for! And I'm very thankful I have some friends with really sensible, sociable 3 yr old dogs who are teaching him manners - makes me laugh when my friends lab stands still - head in air in a really haughty dignified way as if she's saying "I will NOT talk to you while you're barking at me, now behave" !

reup - I was the opposite with my DC and it would seem with dogs, small age gap, get it all over at once

Well done Pip, he really is coming on leaps and bounds with being social isn't he? Well done on being so patient moose.

I have ordered another collar today for Harry, a black one with skulls on it, to make him look more 'bad-ass' I fear both dogs will have a collar for each day of the week at this rate.

Horrible experience for Fitz. Harry has had a few in his time. The dogs at the farm like to juggle with him on occasion. I deal with this by always having treats with me which I feed copiously to the dogs when we go to the farm to sort dpony. I also shout loudly at them when they come running over, but only because I know them well by now and know this works. Now they just ignore him. I came out of the stable the other day and he was sat with the most ferocious one, but I admit my heart was in my mouth!!

Generally, I tend to not make a deal of encounters, which is what I used to do if the kids fell over or whatever when they were little. Keep my body language relaxed, quick pat for reassurance and we are off again. Harry does look at me when he sees a dog that he is unsure of, I keep walking, all relaxed, he generally ignores them now, or will let more forward dogs sniff him and they mutually do the 'hello' routine that Mosse refers to above. He will always initiate play with spaniels and young dogs like himself, no idea what vibe these give off that is different. Generally ignore, often play.

Actually, a JRT that he regularly plays with us to be horrible to him when he was a puppy and be always putting him in his place (always does this to pups apparently), now they are great mates. Harry must have matured.

mint - Harry isn't all that cuddly, he likes being in the same room and will cuddle when tired at night, but generally prefers to be near you but not touching.

Had a nice long walk through the woods today, lots of sniffing and chasing squirrels. Met lots of extremely polite dogs owners with well mannered dogs and, for a change, lots of impolite joggers and cyclists, non of whom thanked me for calling the dog over and making him sit as they passed. Unusual for that walk, but true.

Does anyone else have a dog who leaves their kong until they return? I leave a frozen kong on my working days or if I go out for more than an hour. It never gets touched until I walk back in the door, then it gets given to me as a present, then eaten

Mint, that's how Lurcherboy handles Pip - he stands stock still with his head in the air and refuses to engage with him until he stops being a hooligan. I always think of it when I hear the 'make yourself a tree' thing if you feel threatened by a dog, or a dog is jumping up at you - Lurcherboy is an expert at it.

Needa, had to laugh at your boy getting a bad-ass collar! He sounds like such a sweetheart, I can't imagine him ever being a bad-ass.

It's been throwing it down all day here and I was saying to my Mum earlier that I actually prefer rainy walks, as we only tend to meet responsible dog owners with well behaved dogs, rather than the fair-weather dog owners whose dogs are barely trained, if at all.

Lurcherboy leaves his kong until I get home and then gets stuck in as I walk into the kitchen. I was told it's because he's too anxious to eat when I'm not there, but then he has had SA, so that would make sense for him. The fact that he gives it to you as a present would suggest more that he's waiting for your permission to eat it, rather than anxiety.

Pip just gets stuck straight into his and doesn't look up until he's scoffed every last scrap. (Then he yells his head off until I come back. )

This week, my Mum has been having the boys while I take and collect dd and Lurcherboy has been pinching Pip's kong. I assume it's because Mum and the boys are here, so he's not anxious - I hope so, as with Pip now free-ranging it would be really bad timing for Lurcherboy to suddenly decide he can eat while I'm out.

Thanks moose. There was a thread quite recently on here about the fact that spaniel breeds always seem to bring their owner a 'present' on their return. It didn't start off as a thread about this, but loads of spaniel owners posted the same thing! We have always made Harry 'wait' for his food, so perhaps you are correct though, it would 'fit' with other general behaviour.

Have you not made progress ref the time that you are able to leave Pip, not that he is not crated?

Ps. He pretty much waits for permission to do anything to be honest!!!

I haven't had chance to leave him, because as soon as dd got over chickenpox and went back to school the other two came down with it. Unfortunately, ds2 has it really badly and has been very poorly. Ds1 hasn't been as overall 'ill', iyswim, but he has spots in his throat, and he's not coping well with having spots anyway, as he has ASD and already has tactile/sensory issues and OCD type issues around health and hygiene. So - as you can imagine, it's been a barrel of laughs in the Moose household over the past couple of weeks!

I only managed an off-lead, daylight walk with them today because my Mum had a bit of time to spare after puppy class, so I could take them out while she had the boys. We all got sopping wet, but I loved every minute! Poor dogs have been having to make do with lead walks in the dark before dh goes to work and after he gets home.

Can't wait until everyone is better and back to school - which will probably be mid-week next week. I've had at least one child home for 5 weeks now and really need a break.

I'm planning to start a conditioning/fitness programme for both dogs (been reading up about conditioning unfit sighthounds) as they've not had anywhere near enough off-lead time over the past few weeks. Hoping that will wear Pip out sufficiently enough to really get to work on extending the time he can be left.

He's doing much better at settling down when I go upstairs since we removed the crate though, which is a good sign. He now has a little grumble, then takes himself off to bed, whereas before he used to sit behind the living room door and whinge, loudly, until I came back down or if he was in his crate - yell the place down the minute he heard the living room door knob turn.

I actually feel a touch optimistic that he is going to get there and I will be able to leave the house without stressing again.in the not too distant future.

I'm pretty sure that would be what it is with your boy. As you say, it's in his breeding and he's so obedient as well.

Lurcherboy is clearly anxious when left, even though he's managed to improve to the point he no longer howls like a banshee. (At his worst, he howled for two hours straight, without a break, while I was at the hospital.)

He's comforted by Pip's presence enough to eat - although I usually just give him a smear of salmon mousse and couple of kibble pieces or a Fish4Dogs skin, as he's prone to a touch of middle-ages spread these days (aren't we all [blush). When I leave him on his own to go to dog-club though, he just hugs it till I come home, then eats it as soon as I get in and is clearly stressed and unhappy.

Today we took both dogs with us when I went to dog club and Mum sat in the car with the boys on their Nintendo Ds games and Lurcherboy in the boot while I took Pip to class, as it felt too mean to leave him totally on his own. Then Mum dropped us off on the way home and he had a blast charging through the standing water on the fields, causing huge waves and splashes. Came home very stinky, but really happy.

It's dd's birthday today, so we had visitors after school and both dogs had lots of fuss and attention. They've both been totally spark out in their beds ever since.

Going to dig out some treat dispensing balls next week as well. Hoping if they have one each, plus a kong each there should be enough to keep them both happy.

Crikey Moose - I DO remember being stuck at home for ages during the chicken pox stage, I am sure your walk was very therapeutic. I can really appreciate that feeling of needing a break, DH worked (and still does work) a lot of hours while establishing the business. I don't feel it so acutely now the DC are older but it was very tough when they were little.

My walks are my favourite time of the day

Mine are 11, 9 and 5 (today) so not tiny, but ds1 needs more support than dd in many ways.

Great timing is that dh has recently started his dream job and is away from home regularly, whereas his last job was very flexible and he was able to do school runs and nip out for the odd GP appointment or school meeting etc.

Ds1 has been in independent school since September, hence his Christmas holiday being so long. He broke up during the second week in December He was only back at school 3 days before he came down with chickenpox. By the time he goes back I'll have had at least one child home for as long as the Summer holidays.

Walks are my favourite time of the day two. I find they ground me and I start to get twitchy if I can't get out for a proper walk - or two. So you can imagine how I'm feeling at the moment.

Tough for you Moose. I can relate to that cabin fever well.

Walks are my absolute fav time of day too. And though I love a friend coming along most days for the chat I totally adore the walks on my own, just me and minty! He stays closer to and I feel it's us against the world! I also talk to him about the weather and sun coming through the trees (we walk in woods) and enjoy feeling slightly barking mad!!